Original Batman Director Hasn't Yet Seen The Batman

When Batman Returns hit theaters in 1992, the sequel to 1989's Batman was criticized for being too dark and too violent.  Flash forward thirty years and it's a different Batman film, Matt Reeves' The Batman, that gets the same commentary with fans and critics alike noting the dark, gritty tone of the noir-esque film. But while the commentary about The Batman brings up memories about Batman Returns for filmmaker Tim Burton, it turns out Burton hasn't seen The Batman just yet.

Speaking with Empire magazine, Burton revealed that the discussion of how Reeves' The Batman is dark and gritty is "funny" because of the same commentary that once surrounded Batman Returns.

"It is funny to see this now, because all these memories come back of, 'It's too dark,'" Burton said. "So, it makes me laugh a little bit."

Burton also said that he hasn't yet seen The Batman — but he does want to.

"I'd like to see it," Burton said.

Batman Returns ended up being Burton's last Batman film. With Batman Returns being perceived as too dark, Warner Bros. went a different direction for Batman Forever, opting for a "lighter" tone and a different filmmaker with Joel Schumacher. In looking back at Batman Returns, however, Burton said that he doesn't see the film simply for its darkness and more macabre elements. He says it's more of a mixture of things and he has fond feelings for it.

"I'm not just overly dark," Burton said. "That represents me in the sense that… that's how I see things. It's not meant as pure darkness. There's a mixture. I feel really fondly about it because of the weird experiment that it felt like."

But while Burton hasn't yet seen The Batman and looks back on Batman Returns fondly despite the controversy that surrounded the film being perceived as too dark at the time, there is one Batman-related thing the filmmaker has very strong opinions about: the controversial Batman Forever Batsuit.

"[Back then] they went the other way," Burton said about the swing from darkness to the tone of Batman Forever. "That's the funny thing about it. But then I was like, 'Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me, I'm too weird, I'm too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go f-ck yourself.' Seriously. So yeah, I think that's why I didn't end up [doing a third film] ..."

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